‘Gotu kola is one of my vices,’ Reiko said happily. ‘It’s much better for you than caffeine, you know.’
‘If you say so.’ Smiling weakly, Olivia pushed open the door to the old South Wing. Finally. ‘Ta-da! Check out Café Creative!’
‘Cool!’ Reiko didn’t stop juggling, but she looked around with obvious interest.
Olivia felt a wave of pride as she followed the exchange student’s gaze around the wide hall that her vampire stepmom had decked out so impressively. ‘Isn’t it great? Lillian’s done fantastic work with the space in here.’
Once, this whole wing of the museum had been abandoned and full of dust. Now, light beamed in through long windows, showing off the tables arranged in star-formations around an X-shaped platform.
Olivia pointed to it. ‘See? That’s going to be the catwalk for the fashion show this week.’
‘Really?’ Ivy groaned. ‘It’s raised, like, five feet off the ground. If I fall off that, I’ll leave a dent in the floor!’
Laughter sounded behind them, and a familiar female voice spoke: ‘Now, I know you’re more graceful than that, Ivy Vega!’
Olivia, Ivy and Reiko all spun around . . . and for the first time since they’d stepped into the museum, Reiko actually dropped her tennis ball. It bounced away across the floor and rolled underneath the catwalk, but she didn’t even seem to notice. Her mouth had fallen open and her eyes were wide as she stared at the two new arrivals standing in the doorway: a young man with spiky black hair and high cheekbones, and a young woman with long, silky black hair tied in an impossibly long braid.
‘Is this . . .’ Reiko stopped and swallowed visibly. ‘I mean, are you really . . . can you be . . . Prince Alex and Princess Tessa of Transylvania?’
Olivia hid a grin. Who knew the sports-mad vampire could be so star-struck?
‘Of course they are,’ she said warmly, and ran forwards to hug them. ‘What are you guys doing here?’
‘We’re on, um . . . official business,’ said Alex, giving Ivy a hug. ‘But we couldn’t come all this way and not swing by to visit our favourite twins!’
‘Just look at you!’ Olivia exclaimed, moving to hug Tessa. ‘You’re such a princess now!’
Tessa laughed as she gave Olivia a careful hug, holding a thin wooden box to one side. ‘It took a lot of training,’ she whispered. ‘But the Queen is finally pleased with me.’
‘Of course she is.’ Smiling, Olivia stepped back and looked her friend over. With the grace and poise in every line of Tessa’s posture, no one would ever recognise the timid serving girl the twins had first met. ‘Married life really suits you!’
Tessa smiled, her cheeks flushing. ‘I think it does!’
‘Watch out!’ The strained voice belonged to Camilla Edmunson, Olivia’s best friend. ‘Wardrobe coming through!’
As the others all scattered to make way, Camilla and Lillian staggered into the room, pushing a tall, intricately carved oak wardrobe on a wheeled platform. Normally, Lillian’s vamp-strength would have been enough for her to carry it by herself with ease, but she had to keep up the act of ‘being human’ in front of bunnies like Camilla.
She also looked genuinely exhausted.
‘What do we still have to do?’ Lillian rasped, as she and Camilla heaved the wardrobe across the room. ‘Do the caterers have their menu?’
‘Done,’ Camilla panted as they shoved the platform the last few steps forward.
‘The news releases are all sent out?’
‘Done.’
‘And the short film?’
‘Um . . .’ Camilla shook her head, looking shifty, as she let go of the platform’s handle. ‘Not quite done yet.’
Lillian winced. ‘Camilla, this film is supposed to be playing on loop all through Wednesday evening,’ she said. ‘That’s just four days from now. Is everything OK?’
‘It’s just not quite perfect yet!’ Camilla ran one hand through her short, springy blonde curls, her face scrunching into what Olivia called her ‘artistic scowl’. ‘I’m still editing, but I swear I will lock the picture very soon. It just needs a few more touches!’
‘Well, in that case . . .’ Lillian raised her eyebrows. ‘Why don’t you go home and finish up now?’
‘Oh, no, I can stay and help here some more first,’ Camilla said. ‘I’ll just –’
‘Camilla,’ Lillian said, smiling although there was worry in her eyes. ‘I need that film to be turned in by the end of tonight . . . perfect or not!’
Camilla winced. ‘It will be perfect. I swear it. No matter what it takes!’
With a hasty wave at the others, she grabbed her purple velvet beret from inside the wardrobe and darted out of the room.
Lillian sighed and looked around the space, her shoulders hunching.
‘Last-minute concerns?’ Tessa asked sympathetically.
‘Oh . . .’ Lillian gave an unconvincing smile as she walked over to join Olivia and the vampires. She was dressed just as elegantly as usual, in a black pantsuit and discreet pearls, but she looked as if she needed to sleep in her coffin for at least a month. ‘I’m just really nervous about the opening.’
‘It’s going to be great,’ Olivia said.
‘It really will,’ Ivy added. ‘Seriously. Even I think this space looks . . .’ She winced, then forced the word out with an obvious effort: ‘. . . Fabulous!’
‘Well, in that case . . .’ Lillian’s lips twitched. She looped one arm around Ivy’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
‘Luckily,’ Tessa announced firmly, ‘there is no need to be nervous, because . . . look what I brought!’ She held out the wooden box she’d been carrying.
Lillian blinked at it. ‘What – oh!’ Her face lit up. ‘I remember! Charles said that you were going to loan us the pashmina you wore at your wedding reception. That is wonderful!’
‘Ooh! I want to see it!’ Olivia couldn’t help almost barging Ivy aside to get a better look as their stepmom opened the narrow box. A fabulous, blood-red pashmina lay folded inside, embroidered with bat symbols in a mix of black and gold. The colours were so rich and vibrant, the pashmina seemed to glow against the wood.
Olivia gasped. ‘Tessa, that’s gorgeous!’
‘That is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen,’ Reiko agreed. She started to reach out as if to touch it – then yanked her hand back as if she’d been burned.
Alex smiled proudly, wrapping one arm around his wife’s waist. ‘It was a gift from the Indian vampire community’s Senior Ambassador,’ he explained. ‘It is said to bring good fortune to whoever holds it close. Franklin Grove Museum will have it on display until the spring. While it is here, nothing bad can happen. So, you see? There’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Oh, thank darkness.’ Lillian visibly relaxed for the first time that day. ‘I can’t tell you how much this helps.’
As Olivia looked at her stepmom’s relieved expression, she had to stifle a giggle. Vampires really are so superstitious!
Chapter Two
Olivia was in such a rush to get to her locker at the end of school on Wednesday, she had to make a quick, dancing side-step to avoid the stooped, elderly janitor who stood in her way. With only a few hours to go before the grand opening of Café Creative, she didn’t have much time – she’d have to rush home if she wanted to scoff down a quick sandwich before heading over to the museum.
As she bundled her books into her locker, a familiar clump-clump-clump caught her attention.
It was the unmistakable noise of Amelia Thompson’s heavy black boots marching down the hall.
Olivia glanced around curiously. The gothabulous senior was making a bee-line for Penny Taylor. Penny was a bunny freshman who had once pretended to be the gothiest of goths – but actually preferred the lighter, sparklier side of life. Today, Penny looked as bright as spring in a blue cardigan and pale pink dress . . . and Amelia was scowling as she marched towards her.
Uh-oh. Forgetting her own hurry for a moment, O
livia turned around to get a better look. Is Amelia mad at Penny about something?
Both Penny and Amelia were designers for the fashion show at the Café’s grand opening, and Olivia just knew Lillian would be devastated if anything fell apart at the last minute.
Amelia came to a halt in front of the younger girl. ‘Is it ready?’ she demanded.
‘Oh, yes.’ Penny gave a satisfied smile. ‘I finished up the very last piece over lunch break. It is definitely ready . . . and it’s definitely going to be great!’
‘Ohh!’ Amelia wasn’t mad at Penny at all. Olivia couldn’t help herself. Leaving her locker door hanging open, she rushed forwards, sidestepping around the janitor again to race towards the other girls.
‘Please!’ she begged, as she arrived at Penny’s locker. ‘I’ve been dying to know about this show-stopping secret project. What did you guys collaborate on? I know it must have been a dress, or . . . well . . . some item of clothing, right?’ She looked from one of them to the other, lowering her voice as a group of chattering students passed behind her. ‘Come on, can’t you just give me a hint?’
Penny laughed. ‘It’s a secret, Olivia!’
‘Yes, but I’m one of your models,’ Olivia said. ‘So you don’t have to keep it a secret from me!’
Penny and Amelia traded a look. Despite their differences in style, when they turned back to face Olivia, they wore exactly the same teasing grin.
‘You’ll just have to wait and see, like everybody else,’ Amelia said sternly.
‘But . . .’ Olivia began.
Penny giggled as she closed her locker. ‘The one thing we can tell you is: it’s really kind of . . .’
‘“Altegular”!’ Amelia finished.
They both burst into laughter as they linked arms and walked away down the hall, leaving Olivia staring after them.
‘Altegular’? What does that mean?
‘Excuse me.’ It was the janitor again, his voice gruff and his face hidden under a ragged old baseball cap as he stepped up to mop the floor around Olivia’s feet.
‘Oh, sorry.’ Sighing, Olivia started to head back to her own locker.
Then she stopped. Wait a minute. The janitor wasn’t stooped any more. In fact, she was certain she recognised his posture from somewhere . . .
Narrowing her eyes, she turned to stare at him. Lowering his mop, he turned right back to her and raised the brim of his cap.
Olivia’s breath stopped in her throat. That’s no janitor!
Even with make-up carefully applied to ‘age up’ his face, she would have known those blue eyes anywhere.
It was her far-too-famous boyfriend, Jackson Caulfield!
‘Oh, really.’ Olivia tried to scowl, but she couldn’t help laughing. ‘Has your career really slipped this far, Jackson? Is Amy getting you cleaning jobs now between shoots?’
‘Ahem.’ Still speaking in his gruff, old man’s voice, Jackson gave a wink. ‘I don’t think you should be openly flirting with a school janitor, do you?’
‘Whatever.’ Rolling her eyes, Olivia walked back to her locker and pushed the door wide open, so that no one else could see her expression. ‘So,’ she said, through the locker door, ‘what are you doing here, really?’
‘What do you think?’ Groups of students walked past behind them, but Jackson’s voice was too low for any of them to overhear. ‘I got into town early, and I wanted to see you. But for obvious reasons, it didn’t seem like a good idea to be noticed coming into the school.’
‘Hmm.’ Olivia raised her eyebrows. ‘Do you know, I think there’s a part of you that actually enjoys the trouble you can cause!’
‘I just like the practice,’ Jackson said cheerfully. ‘It’s good to try out different roles.’ He shifted to mop the floor on her other side. ‘So, what time does the event start tonight?’
‘Seven-thirty,’ Olivia said. It was a good reminder: she started packing her bag as she spoke. ‘Just remember, you can expect some chaos as we try to get into the museum.’
‘That’s fine.’ Jackson shrugged. ‘It can’t be any tougher than that crowd at the premiere for The Groves . . . remember?’
‘How could I forget?’ She remembered feeling like she might pass out from the crowds pressing in on them that evening. Their excitement had been overwhelming.
‘Just wait,’ Jackson said. ‘I bet the one we have for “ES” is going to be an even bigger deal.’
‘Oh.’ Olivia gulped. I hadn’t even thought of that.
Jackson was talking about Eternal Sunset, the film they were currently shooting. At its premiere, Olivia would be walking the red carpet as the lead actress of a major movie for the very first time – and it would be the last time for at least five years, since she’d made the choice to put her acting career on hold until she had finished high school.
Would her big moment at the premiere feel exciting? Or just bittersweet?
Uh-oh. She suddenly realised that Jackson had been talking through her moment of distraction. ‘Huh?’
‘Olivia Abbott, are you bored of me already?’ He raised his cap to give her a look of mock-offence.
She lightly swatted his arm. ‘You know that’s not it!’
Then she blushed, as she looked up and caught at least three other students staring at her from around the corridor. I guess they weren’t expecting to see me hit an elderly janitor. Oops!
‘I was just saying, it won’t be long before we’ve wrapped on “ES”,’ said Jackson. ‘Final scenes shoot in November.’
‘Right.’ Olivia sighed. Life would become so much easier once she didn’t have to balance schoolwork and filming any more . . . but she couldn’t be completely happy about that, because it would mean she’d get much less time with Jackson.
‘Anyway . . . I’ll see you tonight.’ He glanced left and right under the brim of his cap and nodded decisively. ‘I’d better get back to work. I see a corner over there that’s filthy.’
‘What are you doing?’ Olivia stared at him as he started forward. ‘You’re not actually paid to clean the school, remember?’
Jackson shrugged. ‘I can never leave a job unfinished. Anyway, you probably ought to rescue Ivy.’
‘Rescue –? What are you talking about?’
‘Oh, I couldn’t possibly ruin the surprise.’ Jackson gave her a wry, amused grin. ‘You have to take a walk across the quad and see this one for yourself. Besides, you wouldn’t believe me if I did tell you!’
It was such a familiar grin – and she’d missed him so much – that Olivia couldn’t help herself. She started forwards, her arms rising instinctively . . .
Then she pulled herself back, just in time. No way. It was weird enough for her to be seen hitting the janitor. If anyone saw her hug him, too, then they would really have questions!
So she only whispered, ‘Later,’ smiled, and turned away.
Time to rescue Ivy – whatever that means!
She hurried down the hall towards the quad, ignoring the students shooting her curious glances. As she stepped outside into the cloudy autumn afternoon, though, she was startled to see the actual janitor, Jonny, leaning against an outer wall and taking deep breaths.
‘Um . . .’ Hesitantly, she started towards him. She’d never spoken to him before, but she couldn’t just ignore his distress. ‘Excuse me, but are you OK? You don’t look very well.’
Hastily straightening, Jonny smoothed down his grey hair with shaking fingers. ‘I feel like I’m going crazy,’ he mumbled. ‘I’ve been walking the halls of this school for the last twenty minutes, getting ready to begin my end-of-the-day work, but . . .’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘They’re already spotless! Either I’ve come down with serious amnesia, or the students have actually started cleaning up after themselves . . . and I don’t know what would be scarier!’
Stifling a laugh, Olivia ducked her head so that he couldn’t read her expression. ‘Um . . . the teachers did ask us all to respect the school a bit more,’ she mumbled, and
moved away quickly, before he could say anything else.
As she walked across the quad, she kept her eyes open for Ivy, looking left and right, past groups of goths and bunnies and . . .
No. I can’t believe it! Gasping, Olivia came to a sudden halt as she finally spotted her twin sister.
I know Ivy’s been struggling to keep Reiko entertained . . . but I would never have expected this!
Ivy spotted Olivia out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t wave, because her hands were full. She couldn’t even nod at her sister, because she had to keep her eyes on the ball, of all ridiculous things.
She was trapped playing doubles tennis!
‘Ivy and Reiko lead by four games to love,’ called the sophomore bunny who’d volunteered as their umpire. She sounded as excited as if she was watching a professional tennis match.
I can’t believe this is happening to me, Ivy thought miserably.
Reiko had insisted they play against Skylar Drew and Hayley Winston, two blonde bunny seniors who were tennis-obsessed. Both girls were super-athletic, and had promised to ‘go easy’ on the two freshmen girls but the truth was, they had very little hope of beating two vampires . . . even if one of those vampires didn’t even like tennis.
Why couldn’t I just say no? Ivy asked herself. But she already knew the answer.
She couldn’t be mean to the exchange student. Unfortunately, tactful dodges didn’t seem to work with Reiko; and Reiko – whose hair was a vivid blue today – apparently could not walk past the tennis court without challenging the girls already there to a ferocious game of doubles.
Now, Reiko fired a fast forehand that had Skylar scrambling to return. Ivy swung a half-hearted backhand . . . but a vampire’s half-hearted backhand still sent the ball flying across the court so fast it was almost invisible.
Hayley lunged forwards just in time to return the ball with a clever drop shot. It fell just over the net, and Skylar hooted with triumph before it could even land.
‘Yes!’
No normal player could possibly get to that ball in time . . . but Reiko was no normal player. She raced forwards in a green-yellow-and-blue blur to dive, racquet first and flick the ball back up and over the heads of their opponents. Hayley and Skylar collided into each other as they both leaped for it, collapsing in a tangle of tanned arms and legs.
Fashion Frightmare! (My Sister the Vampire) Page 2